It Gets Better
by Zombie Killer62
Summary: Percy had been an orphan since he was 5. He had moved to multiple foster homes till he eventually ran away. There, he meets a family that takes him in. A year had passed with that family till Percy decided to run again. Now, Percy is 14, facing high school where things may get better, or worse.
1. A New Year

The annoying sound of Percy's alarm blared in his ears, disrupting his deep sleep. He slammed his hand down onto the snooze button a little too hard, causing it to fall and collapse into tiny pieces scattered across the floor. To be fair the alarm was already battered from falling the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that, basically, Percy is a total klutz. He let out a grunt of frustration and turned around facing away from his door, hoping to get some extra sleep.

 _I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Percy Jackson and I am 14 years old. My biological parents both died when I was five in a fire, me being the only survivor. I was sent to multiple foster homes but none of them really cared about me. Every single one had only given me enough food to survive, didn't let me use the shower or bath, and I had to do all chores. Eventually, it resulted to me running away at age 7, and after a year on the streets, a man took me in as their own. His name was Frederick Chase._

 _He introduced me to his family, cleaned me up, and gave me food. In his family there was him, his wife, Athena, and their daughter Annabeth. She was coincidentally the same age as me, me only being a month older. After a whole year, I decided that I was nothing but trouble for them and didn't deserve this, so I left. I still don't understand why they would let me stay that long, after all, all I did was give them another mouth to feed and more clothing to wash. I was a very shy person but the only person that I actually talked to was Annabeth. I kept running because that was the only thing I knew I could do right. That was all changed when I met Grover._

 _When I was 10, I met Grover Underwood and his uncle and they took me in. At first, I wanted to run again because I didn't want to be a burden for them, but they helped me through everything. Two years after that, Grover's uncle died, leaving us two all alone. We managed to make it by, whether it be performing in public with my astounding singing and his hilarious dancing to earn some money, or helping out the neighborhood. Now, we were at Goode High School for our second year, and it'll be another year of avoiding people. Our first year, I was noticed for being one of the most good-looking people at Goode, but I just kept to myself and didn't really have any friends other than Grover and Nico._

"PERSEUS JACKSON GET OUT OF BED RIGHT NOW OR YOUR PANCAKES ARE MINE!" Grover yelled from the doorway. Honestly, now that Percy's pancakes were on the line, he would do anything. He quickly rolled off his bed and hit the floor, but he stood up and charged on. Grover chuckled at Percy and said, "Better hurry," before patting him on the shoulder. Percy nodded and his body went into autopilot, picking up his clothing.

After changing and brushing his teeth and messing around with his hair, Percy headed to the kitchen to find his pancakes on a plate, slowly growing staler. Percy slid onto the chair and began to devour his breakfast. Grover walked in just after Percy sat down. "So, another year of school, you excited?" He asked him.

Percy answered honestly, "A little bit, but I just want another relaxed year with you and Nico."

"Well let's hope that we get that." He told me. "Anyway, we only have a few minutes before we leave for school. I already ate so you better take bigger bites." He said, urging him on.

Percy glared at him. But that was just how their friendship worked and Percy wouldn't have it any other way.

They arrived a few minutes before the bell and met with Nico, but their conversation was cut short when the bell rung, so they just parted ways and headed to their respective home rooms. Percy walked through the door and went to sit down without making a single sound. The teacher then started the roll call and Percy fiddled with his necklace. Percy and his mom had made that necklace for him at Montauk, and it was one of his most prized possessions. Percy barely noticed his name was called out until someone elbowed him and Percy then looked up to see the teacher looking at him expectantly. "Mr. Jackson are you here?"

"Oh, h-here." Percy stammered, his face red with embarrassment and a few people snickered beside him.

Eventually they went to class and first up for Percy was Greek with Mr. Brunner or Chiron as people call him. Percy strolled through the door and Chiron smiled at him. "Morning Percy." Chiron greeted and Percy returned the greeting. Chiron is one of the people that knows about Percy's past and he is his favourite teacher. Percy found his desk, a desk near the back, and he settled into his chair. As the people flooded in, Percy noticed that both Annabeth Chase and Thalia Grace were in his class this year. This was going to be interesting. Annabeth had amnesia, thus making her forget Percy, so basically he was a no one in her eyes. How he knows this? Silena, a friend of Annabeth's and a secret friend of Percy, had told him. Silena knew that Percy knew Annabeth but she didn't know the complete truth about his past. The less people knowing, the better. The year before, Annabeth asked a few questions as she thought Percy looked familiar but he was able to convince her that he didn't know her. A complete lie. Now, Annabeth was one of the smartest people at Goode, and she was very popular and so was Thalia Grace.

"Alright class, today we will start with Greek mythology." Chiron addressed and Percy smiled widely. he loved Greek and it was one of the subjects that he was actually good at and knew so much about. Chiron then brought a picture on screen. "Can anyone tell me what this picture is about." He asked.

Percy raised his hand. So did Annabeth and Thalia. Chiron looked at Thalia and Annabeth, then looked over to Percy and smiled. "Percy, can you tell me?"

"That's Kronos eating his kids." Percy stated.

"And he did this why?" He questioned.

"Well, Kronos was the king Titan and his father Ouranos had given him a warning about his kids destroying him just like Kronos did to Ouranos. So Kronos ate his kids to prevent that but his wife, Rhea, had hid baby Zeus when he was born and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. When Zeus had grown up, he tricked Kronos into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"

"Eeew!" one of the girls in front of Percy exclaimed.

"-and so a war was waged between the Titans and the gods and the gods won." he finished.

"Correct." Chiron said with a smile on his face.

After that, they took a quiz to find out what they already knew and Annabeth, Thalia, and Percy were the first ones done. Percy sat back down in his chair and stared at his desk for the rest of the remaining time. Percy couldn't wait to talk to Nico again. Grover, Nico, and him used to always hang out on weekends playing COD or another game they could play against each other. Then, one of the strangest things of the day just happened to Percy. Annabeth slid into the empty chair next to him.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Hi?" Percy replied, confused as to why she was sitting next to him.

"So Percy, how's life?" She asked him.

"Uhh, life's good. Why are you asking me?" he said.

"Can't I talk to you if I want?" Annabeth replied.

"But you could talk to anyone you wanted. You're super popular! Why me?"

"Because, I want to talk to someone who doesn't care about popularity or smarts. I want to talk to someone who cares about me being me." She confessed.

Percy smiled. "Well then, you have come to the right person." He said with a smirk on his face. Too bad their conversation was brought to a halt by the bell. The second time it happened today. Damn the stupid bell.

After Greek had finished, Percy went to his next class, and then the next, and he realised that Annabeth was in every single one. After the class had been dismissed, Percy rushed toward Annabeth, wanting to talk to her. He tapped her on her shoulder and she turned around.

"Hey Percy." She said.

"Hi, can I see your schedule?" He politely asked and she gave it to him. Percy read it over twice to make sure he had it right because of his dyslexia. He was in disbelief when he handed it back to her. "Wow, we have the exact same timetable." Percy stated and her eyes widened.

After a few seconds, a smile then formed on her face. "Then it looks like you're going to have to deal with me for the rest of the year." She joked.

"It won't be that bad."

She blushed. "Well I better head to lunch, my friends are waiting but it was fun talking to you Percy. I'll see you later." She said as she walked to the cafeteria. Percy smiled to himself and then raced toward the cafeteria, _this year is going to be interesting._


	2. Reminiscent of the past

**I would like to say that instead of first person, I'm changing it to third person. The first chapter hasn't changed that much. Chapters will get longer after this.  
**

Percy slipped into his seat at the table that Grover and Nico sat at after getting his food. "Hey guys, anything new?" Percy asked.

"Not much Perce, but Juniper is nearly in all of my classes!" Grover chirped.

Percy smiled. Grover had a crush on Juniper since we arrived at high school and he hoped that Juniper would feel the same way about Grover. They had been talking a lot for the last quarter of last year and they kept talking over the phone during summer. "Well, I just one-upped you. Annabeth and I had the exact same timetables." Percy boasted.

"We forgot to talk about this over summer. How is your relationship with Annabeth going?" Nico teased. He didn't know that Percy knew Annabeth in his past so Nico just assumed that Percy liked her. The weird thing is, is that Percy wouldn't be able to tell him if he's right or wrong.

Percy's face turned red and he could feel the air heating up. "Shut it Nico or I spill about Thalia." Percy retaliated as Nico had flushed cheeks on his face. He kept quiet after that.

Then they all burst out laughing. They probably looked like idiots to the rest of the school, but they didn't care. They've done stupider stuff. Suddenly, Annabeth, Thalia, and Juniper all got up and started to walk over to their table. Grover silently gulped, Nico's eyes widened and Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Before you ask us, Juniper wants us to come with her over here so she can talk to Grover." Thalia explained and Juniper blushed. Percy chuckled lightly. Thalia and he had talked before and he learned under all that toughness and guarded walls, she is actually a caring and kind person. The girls then proceeded to sit opposite the boys: Juniper opposite Grover, Thalia opposite Nico, and Annabeth opposite Percy. They all then started to talk in their own conversations.

"So Percy, what do you like?" Annabeth asked, trying to get to know him.

"Well, I like swimming, and I also like Greek and science, and pretty much nothing else." Percy answered honestly. "What about you?"

"I like a lot of stuff. Maths, science, Greek, and architecture are my favourites."

"What do you do for fun?"

"I like to read books and watch movies."

"Read books?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Are there times where you don't study?" Percy asked.

Annabeth laughed. Her laugh is one of the most amazing sounds Percy had heard. He smiled than began laughing along with her.

"Well I occasionally watch T.V but studying takes priority." Annabeth said.

Percy frowned. "Come on _Annie_. You don't need to work 24/7."

"Don't call me Annie." She replied with a dead serious look on her face. If looks could kill, he would be dead ten times over.

Percy raised his hands in mock surrender and smirked. Eventually, she broke into a smile.

The bell then rung, causing a stampede to ensue. Fortunately, they had the same class. They stood up and walked side by side but eventually they were separated due to the sheer physical force of the crowd they were now immersed in.

They stopped and looked around, hoping to spot the other. Percy spotted Annabeth's gold streaked hair and began to make his way towards her. Annabeth was searching for Percy but she couldn't seem to find him, until a pair of hands pinched her stomach and she squealed at the sudden contact. She turned to find Percy laughing. She immediately went to punch him in the shoulder.

"OWW!" Percy shrieked. "What was that for?" He grumbled.

"That's for being stupid." She said, and then giggled at Percy's puppy dog face.

Suddenly, Percy grasped Annabeth's hand and pulled her along. While shuffling through the crowd, Annabeth was blushing the whole time. She lowered her head so no one could see how red her face was. Eventually the crowd dispersed, and Percy released Annabeth's hand from his grip. Annabeth missed the warmth and sensation of holding Percy's hand already. She then mentally slapped herself. _Don't be stupid Annabeth. He was only holding your hand so you wouldn't be separated from him. That's it._ Though she kept getting the feeling that they had held hands before, which is utterly impossible.

Percy kept muttering curses at himself repeatedly in his mind. _Annabeth isn't the same Annabeth she was years ago. She thinks you're a weirdo now. Stupid._ Both Annabeth and Percy were in deep thought, and didn't seem to realise that they hadn't spoken till Percy cleared his throat. Annabeth was shoved out of her thoughts and realised that an awkward silence accompanied the shrill air.

"Sorry if I-uhh-I alarmed you by grabbing your hand." Percy spoke but Annabeth shook her head.

"Nah, it's okay."

"What do we have next?"

"I believe we have social studies and interactions with Mr. Apollo." Annabeth answered.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Social studies and interactions is about different things each year so you will just have to wait and find out." Annabeth said.

Percy moaned and Annabeth let out a slight laugh. "What's wrong Mr. Jackson?"

"Why can't you just give me a straight answer?"

Annabeth chuckled. "Where's the fun in that?" They finally made it to the door of their class and they entered.

"Okay class, most of you will already know me. If you don't, I'm Mr. Apollo, but you can call me Apollo. Today, we will be sorting out partners for a project and I have already selected them, so you won't get to choose." Apollo explained. He then began to call out partners. Finally, Percy's name was called.

"Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase."

Percy's eyes widened in realization. His eyes then flickered toward where Annabeth was sitting and he caught her gaze. She smiled at him and he grinned. "Now class, move to sit next to your partner." Apollo said. Everyone sat up and shifted and Percy walked toward Annabeth.

"Hey."

"So Percy, looks like we're partners."

Percy nodded with a smile on his face. "Now, the lesson for today is getting to know your partner, and next lesson we will start with the project." Apollo announced.

"What is your favourite food." Annabeth asked.

"Easy. Blue pancakes." Percy replied without hesitation.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. " _Blue_ pancakes?" Percy nodded.

"It was a family tradition that my mom would give me blue pancakes after an argument with someone at a supermarket when they had said that blue food doesn't exist."

"She really took that seriously."

"Yeah. I guess she did." Percy said, staring off into space away from Annabeth.

"Anyway, what's your favourite colour?" Percy asked, as he returned back to the conversation.

"My favourite colour is purple."

"Mine's blue obviously." Percy said with an infectious smirk on his face that caused Annabeth to smile.

The bell rung, signalling the class to pack up their things and head out. Percy hoped that he could spend more time with Annabeth, but the thing he wished most for was for things to go back to the way they were. The time where they weren't afraid to talk to each other, the time where they would do everything with each other. He wished those days would return.


	3. Surprise at the Park

It was the end of the day and Percy was still at school. He was taking his books out of his locker and emptying it into his bag, slightly increasing in weight. He shuddered at the breeze that whizzed past the corridors that made nearly no sound. Percy hated the quiet. He was so used to sleeping outdoors, where he could hear trees rustling, and cars speeding by, and to be frank **(hehe ;) see what I did there?)** , it reminded him of days with his biological parents, where he slept in complete, soothing silence. As he closed his locker, he heard a door open, then close. He turned around to walk toward the doors of the corridor but when he turned around, he bumped into someone and butted them on the forehead and Percy grabbed their hand for balance, but they ended up hitting the floor.

Annabeth had stayed behind to talk to a teacher and pick up some books and homework she had forgotten. As she headed out the door, she turned and bumped straight into someone, hitting them on the forehead, and then they grabbed her hand for balance, but still they fell onto the cold hard floor. She felt her architecture sketchbook slip out of her hand. She kept her eyes closed till most of the stinging pain had receded. When she opened them, she found a pair of sea green eyes trained on her.

"Well, I guess that's one way to bump into someone." Percy joked. Annabeth rubbed her head and she still looked a bit dazed. Annabeth then sluggishly brushed an out of place curl behind her ear. _It's still cute how she brushes her curls behind her hair._ Percy thought. That thought was then followed by a mental slap. _Stop that!_

"Oh, hi?" Annabeth said, but it came out more like a question than a statement. Percy then pulled them both back up and Annabeth scanned the floor for her sketchbook, but Percy found it first. "Here you go." He said as he picked up the book and handed it to her with a warm smile planted on his face.

"Thanks." She took the book and made sure none of the pages were crinkled.

"Whoa, are those sketches of buildings?" Percy asked, his voice filled with awe. Annabeth simply nodded. "Can I see?" At this point Annabeth didn't know what to do. Her sketchbook was something she kept to herself and was a place of privacy for her. She didn't know if she should share it with Percy.

After thinking about this, she decided to hand it to him. Percy carefully flipped each page, which she was thankful for, and each page the smile on his face grew bigger. "Annabeth. These are amazing!"

Annabeth blushed. "Thank you Percy."

"Wow, you like architecture a lot." He stated.

"Well, I always wanted to create something permanent so I started to sketch buildings. It's not that good though."

Percy frowned. "Are you serious?! Your work makes my sketches look like a kindergarten project." He said. Annabeth laughed at that, and Percy joined in soon after.

"I don't normally show this to anyone, but I'm making an exception." Annabeth mentioned and Percy nodded. He understood that Annabeth liked privacy and having personal space, so to show this to him means that she's letting him in. After Percy had finished looking at the sketches, he handed the book back. "Well I think we should head home." Percy said, motioning towards the door.

Percy walked along the streets alone, and looked toward his and Grover's apartment. It appeared small on the outside, but inside it was fairly big. As he opened the door to the apartment, he immediately went to the kitchen to sate his growing hunger. His eyes instantly darted towards the box of cookies left on the counter, awaiting to be devoured. Percy's green eyes zeroed in on the delicious cookies that were taunting him from the other side of the room. He lunged at the food and the cookies found his mouth easily as in no time, two of them were already gone, only leaving crumbs in their place. After his snack, he went to his room and sat on his bed. _Things could change_ _this year._ Percy thought to himself as he leaned back and laid down on his comfortable sheets.

After school, Annabeth went home and walked into the kitchen and found her mother cooking. "Hello Annabeth. How was school honey?" Her mom asked sweetly.

"School was great mom." Annabeth replied as she then headed up the stairs to her room. Once in her room, Annabeth started to crack down on her maths work. But one thing was still bugging her.

She just let someone see her sketchbook.

That was one thing she thought that she wouldn't do for like, forever! Annabeth let out a frustrating sigh as she slammed her pen down onto her desk. She couldn't think like this. Sure, she let someone see but Percy wasn't like all the other guys. He may be strong, lean, and tough, but underneath that he was sweet, caring, and he understood Annabeth. Not to mention his handsomeness. To Annabeth, Percy was the best looking person she had ever seen! But Annabeth could've sworn she'd seen him from somewhere before.

* * *

The next day followed and soon Annabeth was heading to school but the good thing was that today, most of her friends would return. Piper, Hazel, Leo, Jason, and Frank would be back and Annabeth couldn't wait. You could practically feel the excitement emanating off of her. She hugged her clothes tighter as the cold breeze brushed against her skin. It was still a bit early in the morning but Annabeth felt the need to get outside and breathe in the fresh air, and so here she was, at the city park.

Annabeth walked toward a bench and sat down, taking in the view of the early sun. She then pulled out her sketchbook and a pencil and began to draw. Annabeth surveyed her surroundings and transferred what she was seeing onto the paper. She was so engrossed in her work that she didn't even see the person to her right, approaching her. The person leisurely strolled toward the bench and sat down next to Annabeth. "Hey. Wow, you really like drawing." They said, a smile forming on their face.

Annabeth seemed startled and jumped in her seat at first as she didn't even see them sit down. As she looked at them, she saw raven black hair that sticked up in every direction and dazzling green eyes : It was Percy. "Percy?" Annabeth asked, clearly surprised that he was sitting right next to her this early in the morning.

Percy's smile turned into a smirk as he answered, "Who else would it be Wise Girl?"

"Wise Girl?" Annabeth remarked.

"You're pretty much smarter than everyone else so yeah."

"Okay then, Seaweed Brain."

Percy's eyebrows scrunched together. "Seaweed Brain?"

"You like swimming, and sometimes your brain can be completely full of seaweed so yeah." Annabeth replied with a triumphant smirk on her face.

Percy's eyebrows were still furrowed together a few seconds after she finished talking and his eyes glazed over with a distant look. Annabeth waved her hand in front of Percy's face for a few seconds. "Helloooooo, Earth to Percyyyyy."

Percy then jumped back and moved his head side to side for a moment before saying, "Sorry, I uhh was thinking."

Annabeth gasped, "Percy thinking?"

Percy playfully pushed her on the shoulder. "Hey!"

Annabeth smiled at him. With Percy, Annabeth felt like she didn't need to think about anything. She felt like she could stay in the present, with absolutely no troubles. Percy constantly made her smile no matter what situation she was in and his laugh fluttered her heart.

"Do you always come out here this early?" Percy asked, curious as to why she was sitting here alone this early.

"No, I just felt like getting outside today."

"That's a beautiful view." Percy stated, pointing out the sunrise and the changing colours in the sky. Streaks of red, orange, blue, and a little bit of purple was blended into the sky, giving a beautiful mix of colours.

"So, why you out here so early Percy?"

"Well, I normally go for a run around the park in the morning so this is normal for me. I was surprised to see you here though." Percy answered.

"Yeah well I needed some time away from home, hopefully my parents won't freak out."

"Do you live with your parents?" He asked.

"Yeah I do, who do you live with?"

As soon as those words exited Annabeth's mouth, Percy flinched. Annabeth seemed a bit confused by his reaction, and then proceeded to apologise. "Sorry Percy. I didn't mean to offend you." Annabeth said, looking down.

"No no, it's okay." Percy softly said. "It's just that I don't usually go near that question a lot but it's okay." He said in a sincere tone. "I live with, uhh, my parents."

Percy panicked when Annabeth asked that, but Percy didn't want to let Annabeth feel uncomfortable so he lied to her. He hoped that she would buy it. Annabeth nodded and they then both sat in comfortable silence, the both soaking in the presence of each other.


End file.
